Boxer John Cooney remained in intensive care on Monday evening after being rushed to hospital following a bout in the Ulster Hall on Saturday.
The 28-year-old, from Galway, is being treated in the Royal Victoria Hospital after suffering an injury to the brain during his super-featherweight fight against Welshman Nathan Howells.
His promoter, Mark Dunlop, has asked for thoughts and prayers as Mr Cooney “faces his toughest battle”. The boxer was defending his Celtic title first won in November, 2023.
The Galway man lost the Celtic title fight to Howell with a technical knock-out (TKO) in the ninth round of the bout.
In a statement, Mr Dunlop, of MHD Promotions, said that following the boxer’s “epic title fight in the Ulster Hall” he was assessed by the onsite medical team and then “swiftly” taken to the RVH.
“On arrival at the RVH it was discovered that John had an intracranial haemorrhage and underwent immediate surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain,” Mr Dunlop said.
“John is currently in the intensive care unit and in the hospital’s capable hands of the ICU team.”
He added that Mr Cooney’s fiancée Emmaleen and parents, Hugh and Tina, wanted to thank people for their messages of support and asked for him to be kept in thoughts and prayers as he “faces his toughest battle”.
Cooney won the Celtic title with a first-round win over Liam Gaynor in November 2023 at a sold-out 3Arena in Dublin. It was the undercard to Katie Taylor’s win over Chantelle Cameron.
He spent a year out of the ring recovering from a hand injury before returning to beat Tampela Maharusi of Tanzania in October 2024 in London.
